Chapter 9 - Kaesi

“The schoolyard…” Kaesi thought to herself, looking around. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The disorientation hadn’t quite gone away.

“Alagor, was that a –” She stopped short. Alagor was gone, as was everyone else.

“Why do I get the feeling that something bad is going to happen?” she asked herself. “Because something bad always happens to the pretty girl, that’s why,” she answered.

“I think that’s being a little generous, don’t you, love?” The voice, despite its sing-song, harmonious tone, made Kaesi cringe.

“What do you want, Wallow?” she mumbled, already irritated. She looked up to find Wallow laying stomach-down on a small cloud, presumably one of her own conjuring.

“Now, now, now, is that anyway to talk to the one person who knows how to get you back to your friends?” Wallow teased, wagging her finger.

A look of mixed confusion and surprise washed over Kaesi’s face. “You’d actually do that?”

“Of course not,” Wallow answered, beaming. Something about her overly sweet voice and saccharine smile made Kaesi feel sick to her stomach.

“So let me guess,” Kaesi said snidely, “He got his hands on a Teleportation Scroll.”

“Close,” Wallow answered, winking. Her cloud dissipated as she slowly drifted back to Earth. “But not quite.”

“Then what?” Kaesi asked hesitantly. She was beginning to wonder if Wallow was planning on divulging anything or merely wasting her time.

“Yes, what indeed,” Wallow grinned, putting her fingertip against her lips as if thinking. She began walking in circles, looking up in mock-confusion. “What looks like a Teleportation Scroll, works like a Teleportation Scroll, but is so much better than a Teleportation Scroll?”

Kaesi’s eyes widened. She desperately didn’t want to say what was on her mind for fear that she might be right. It was too late; Wallow had caught her expression.

“Oooh aren’t we the clever one? Figured it out already, have you, love?”

Kaesi looked at her feet, not wanting to make eye contact. “It was a Banishment Scroll, wasn’t it?” she asked dejectedly. She knew that that meant she was stuck here. “Well,” she thought, “only if she says –”

“Yes.”

Closing her eyes, Wallow grinned harmlessly. “So I’m afraid tha– ahh!” Her eyes shot open. Wallow shrieked as Kaesi’s fist connected with her stomach. Wallow glared; it was the first time she had broken her child-like demeanor.

“You little brat!” she shouted, grabbing onto Kaesi’s wrist with both hands.

Kaesi allowed her arm to dissolve into the familiar shadowy smoke and pulled it out of Wallow’s grasp. She clenched her fist, solidified her arm and, without losing a second, swung again, landing a punch between Wallow’s eyes. Wallow stumbled backward but balanced herself.

“This is one fight,” Wallow said as her legs became pure water, slowly rising and twisting, “that you shouldn’t have started.” Wallow looked down on Kaesi from her self-made pedestal. She smiled menacingly, two rows of razor-sharp fangs staring down on Kaesi.

It was as if something inside Wallow had exploded; her entire body fell into a single burst of water, plummeting back to Earth. As soon as the water came near the ground, it formed a tidal wave-like wall and rushed forward, engulfing Kaesi’s body. Kaesi felt an icy, prickling sensation constricting every nerve in her body. There was a sudden sharp pain in her forehead. The single word “chapel” was slammed to the front of her mind.

All of a sudden, and as quickly as it had happened, the watery entity rushed backward to reform Wallow’s body some several feet back. Kaesi twitched; it was as someone was sending periodic pulses of electricity through her body.

“What’s that matter, love?” Wallow asked, her sweet voice returning. “Did the baby get hurt?!” She put particular emphasis on the last word as she threw her arms in front of herself, turning them into a flood of spiraling water. Kaesi braced herself, but wasn’t ready for what happened next: the water hardened at the moment before impact and became a blunt pillar of solid ice. Kaesi tried to make her body intangible but instead received a sharp pain. She was hurled back several feet.

“I’m afraid that little smoke trick won’t work for quite some time,” Wallow teased. “The inside of your body is completely frozen, and with my special ice no less.” She smiled then looked at Kaesi with a look of curiosity. As Kaesi had tried to use her powers again, something had sparkled. It was brief, but Wallow was sure she had seen something gold sparkle from somewhere within Kaesi.

There was a sudden sharp pain in Wallow’s leg. She looked down at it then back up to see Kaesi, arm outstretched and hand smoking a dark substance.

“How dare you blast me,” she huffed. “But of course, I know you’re just trying to distract me.” The defeated look on Kaesi’s face told her she was right. “That’s angel’s hair, isn’t it? Only one reason for that.”

She walked over to Kaesi, who was still nearly paralyzed from Wallow’s attack. Wallow place her hand against Kaesi’s chest. Her entire hand and arm suddenly dissolved into a thick mist and sunk into Kaesi’s body. Kaesi winced and screamed out in pain. She almost hoped she would pass out just so she couldn’t feel the pain anymore. Wallow’s arm passing through her was forcing Kaesi to use her powers, causing an even greater pain. Tears began flowing down Kaesi’s face; this was too unbearable. At long last Wallow removed her hand. In it, she now held three Scrolls, each lined in silver, with a glowing golden string binding them together.

“No…” Kaesi panted, now too exhausted to speak.

“Well, well, well,” Wallow sang gleefully. “I think dear old Blackheart would be most interested in seeing these. And for being such a helpful little girl, I think I’ll spare you.” She began to dissolve on the spot

“For now.” And with that, she was gone.

Kaesi, breathing heavily and trying to stay conscious, summoned what remained of her strength and faded away into the ground. Several blocks away, she reemerged in front of the chapel and, pushing herself to her feet, limped inside.

Just as she had gotten through the door, she noticed something red appearing on the wall. It slowly started to form sentences:

Four shall be sent
To worlds apart.
Bodies separate;
United by heart.
But four shall return,
Each hand in hand;
Divided they fall
But together they stand.

A red handprint appeared beneath it, and Kaesi reached out to touch it. As her hand met the mysterious print, there was a bright light, and she was gone.

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